RUTH L. KIRSCHSTEIN NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD (NRSA) STIPEND
INCREASE AND OTHER BUDGETARY CHANGES EFFECTIVE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004
RELEASE DATE: February 5, 2004
NOTICE: NOT-OD-04-023
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
(http://www.nih.gov/)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
(http://www.ahrq.gov/)
Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA)
(http://www.hrsa.gov/)
The budgetary changes described below for Fiscal Year 2004 Kirschstein-
NRSA awards affect the stipend levels for undergraduate, predoctoral
and postdoctoral trainees and fellows. In addition, for informational
purposes only, the Training Related Expenses for trainees and the
Institutional Allowance for individual fellows are shown. These budget
categories are not being increased. Only undergraduate, predoctoral
and postdoctoral stipends are increased this fiscal year.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE DESCRIBED BUDGETARY CHANGES ARE EFFECTIVE
ONLY FOR KIRSCHSTEIN-NRSA AWARDS MADE WITH FY 2004 FUNDS. Retroactive
adjustments or supplementation of stipends or other budgetary
categories with Kirschstein-NRSA funds for an award made prior to
October 1, 2003 is not permitted. Budgetary adjustments for training
grant and fellowship awards, therefore, will be made only at the time
of the FY 2004 award. Adjustments of stipends and other benefits for
trainees will be made only at the time of appointment or reappointment
to training grants made with FY 2004 funds.
STIPENDS: Effective with all Kirschstein-NRSA awards made on or after
October 1, 2003, the following annual stipend levels apply to all
individuals receiving support through institutional research training
grants or individual fellowships, including the Minority Access to
Research Career (MARC) and Career Opportunities in Research (COR)
programs. These awards are made under the authority of Section 487 of
the Public Health Service Act (as amended).
The stipend levels are as follows:
Career Level Stipend for FY 2004
Undergraduates in the MARC and COR Programs
Freshmen/Sophomores $ 7,812
Juniors/Seniors $ 10,956
Predoctoral $ 20,772
Postdoctoral
Years of Experience
0 $ 35,568
1 $ 37,476
2 $ 41,796
3 $ 43,428
4 $ 45,048
5 $ 46,992
6 $ 48,852
7 or more $ 51,036
Competing and non-competing awards issued on or after October 1, 2003,
which used the FY2003 stipend schedule, will be revised by the NIH
awarding component to reflect the new stipend levels. The new stipend
levels are to be used in the preparation of future competing and non-
competing NRSA institutional training grant and individual fellowship
applications. They will be administratively applied to all
applications now in the review process.
The NIH remains committed to gradual stipend increases for predocs and
postdocs as articulated in the NIH Statement in Response to the
National Academy of Sciences Report: Addressing the Nation's Changing
Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists, which is available at
http://grants.nih.gov/training/nas_report/NIHResponse.htm. In keeping
with that statement, the NIH encourages institutions to limit the
duration of graduate and postdoctoral training to the extent possible.
In most cases, graduate and postdoctoral research training from any
source should not exceed 6 years and 5 years, respectively. The NIH
retains eight levels of postdoctoral stipends to accommodate
individuals who complete other forms of health-related training prior
to accepting a Kirschstein-NRSA supported position. The presence of
eight discrete levels of experience should not be construed as an
endorsement of extended periods of postdoctoral research training.
It should be noted that the increase in the zero level postdoctoral
stipend will increase the maximum amount that NIH will award to support
the compensation package for a graduate student research assistant as
described at
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-017.html.
INSTITUTIONAL ALLOWANCE AND TRAINING RELATED EXPENSES FOR KIRSCHSTEIN-
NRSA RECIPIENTS:
The Training Related Expenses for each predoctoral and postdoctoral
trainee as well as the Institutional Allowance for all predoctoral and
postdoctoral fellows remains at the amounts shown below for all awards
made with FY 2004 funds:
Training Related Expenses on Institutional Training Grants
Predoctoral Trainees: $2,200
Postdoctoral Trainees: $3,850
Institutional Allowance on Individual Fellows Sponsored by non-Federal
Public & Private Institutions (Domestic & Foreign)
Predoctoral Fellows: $2,750
Postdoctoral Fellows: $5,500
Institutional Allowance for Individual Fellows Sponsored by Federal and
For-Profit Institutions
Predoctoral Fellows: $1,650
Postdoctoral Fellows: $4,400
Expenses allowed within these cost categories are described in the
appropriate program announcements, which can be found at
http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm. These amounts will be applied
to all competing and non-competing NRSA awards made with FY 2004 funds.
These levels are to be used in the preparation of future competing and
non-competing Kirschstein-NRSA institutional training grant and
individual fellowship applications. They will be administratively
applied to all applications now in the review process.
INQUIRIES
Questions concerning this notice or other policies relating to training
grants or fellowships should be directed to the grants management
office in the appropriate NIH Institute or Center.
Walter L. Goldschmidts, Ph.D.
Acting Research Training Officer
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 3516
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7963
Phone: (301) 451-4225
FAX: (301) 480-0146
Email: goldschw@od.nih.gov